We were lucky enough to nab an interview with ESPN's Ian Darke, who Matt labeled the "hottest announcer in the country," before yesterday's big USA-Mexico friendly on ESPN2.  From there it was all downhill as ESPN's soccer coverage trudged through a very long day.

The first setback occurred when it was announced that NBC/NBC Sports Network has procured a very significant soccer package starting in 2012. The bulk of games will be on NBC Sports Network (currently Versus), with select games airing on NBC, which will also include some national team games.  ESPN already has their soccer package and it's considered the top package, but the long term implications are a bit ominous.

ESPN was pretty comfortable with the sports tier channel, Fox Soccer, as both their partner and competitor in soccer coverage. That's not a slight to Fox Soccer but just a tip of the hat to NBC/NBC Sports Network who is well known to be the only real possible threat to the ESPN empire. The folks who continues to clamor for a true ESPN competitor need to realize it's probably going to take a full decade to materialize and that progress will be slow.  The addition of the soccer package to NBC Sports is a very nice win for them and a smart bet.

Things only got worse for ESPN as a Little League World Series game, well, actually a regional semifinal or something, ran long and interrupted the broadcast of the soccer match.  Not the biggest deal in the world as most folks were able to flip over to ESPN News, but a lot of people were surprised and maybe even offended by the decision to stick with the baseball game. SI's Grant Wahl certainly took note:

• Come on, ESPN. It was strange: ESPN sure treated USA-Mexico like a big game before it started. The SportsNation crew was here today with Michelle Beadle, and a cavalry of a half-dozen ESPN broadcasters was also on-hand, causing me to think the network was sort of overhyping this friendly. But the Worldwide Leader undermined everything by shunting the first 20 minutes of the game over to ESPNews so that a Little League World Series *qualifier* could finish on ESPN2. The network may have policies that call for such measures, but it sure came off as a statement that this game didn't mean much at all.

ESPN has done an excellent job in their soccer coverage and today was another solid effort, but to the trained eye there were a couple of modest missteps that stood out as uncharacteristic. The first came in the seconds leading up to the climatic moment of the game when the US tied the game with a slick goal, the first of the Klinsmann era. Unfortunately, though, the majority of the setup work was not shown live as ESPN was showing replay of the previous attack.

That's not a big deal and is more just bad luck as opposed to sloppy production. Still, the moment was cheapened a bit as you were left wondering "how did they set that up?"  Nothing else really stuck out as abnormal during the rest of the game, but in the Sportscenter following the game there was some type of miscommunication/production snafu as Bristol went to Bob Ley live while he seemed to be in the dark on that:

Ley is a pro and ESPN's soccer coverage has been superb. Still, this odd moment with the missed setup of the goal, the ESPN News kickoff, and NBC's foray into soccer all combine for a pretty rough day for a network that has had nothing but high marks over the last year or so broadcasting the world's most popular sport. This got me thinking........ Is this the start of the Matt Yoder AA podcast curse? 

The first new sports entity to join the expanding NBC Sports empire is officially Major League Soccer (including Eddie Gaven of my hometown Columbus Crew, pictured above).  Reports today indicate MLS has inked a very favorable deal with the NBC/Comcast/NBC Sports Channel conglomerate.  The best sports media writers in the biz have been all over the story today, so you can read Deitsch or Ourand for all of the details.  In short, the league will have exposure on broadcast television with 4 MLS games (2 regular and 2 post-season) and 2 U.S. Men's National Team games appearing on NBC.  Meanwhile, 45 MLS games and 4 USMNT games will appear on the artist formerly known as Versus, the NBC Sports Network.

In essence, MLS has kept their partnership with ESPN (who will still carry plenty of MLS and USMNT games, including the MLS Cup) and has exchanged their package with FOX Soccer for the new NBC/NBC Sports venture.  At first glance, the move has several advantages for the growth of MLS as a league and the continued growth of soccer in the United States.  So, just who are the winners and losers of this potential rights deal...

Winner: MLS And Soccer's Growth In The USA

Yes, yes, I know, you've heard it a hundred times before.  Soccer is going to take over the USA! Blah blah blah!  But, if our podcast today with Ian Darke should tell you anything, it's that people in the soccer community believe in the potential of MLS to grow the game domestically.  Yes, we'll always flock to the best the sport has to offer, hence the success of the EPL on ESPN.  But, the domestic league has lacked a television partner who is equally invested in the growth of the league.  Heck, even FOX Soccer treated the MLS as an afterthought compared to more talented leagues around the world like Serie A and La Liga.  It's not like ESPN treats the league any better.  Ask yourself when was the last time you saw the league standings on SportsCenter?  The MLS on NBC and NBC Sports Channel will be able to reach more homes than FOX Soccer while gaining more attention than it does on ESPN...

In the newest edition of the AA Podcast, perhaps the most popular announcer in America joins us, the brilliant Ian Darke of ESPN. Darke has been at the center of ESPN's soccer revolution as lead play by play voice of the EPL and this summer's Women's World Cup in Germany.  Darke became a cult phenomenon with his call of Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria at the 2010 World Cup and has quickly become one of the most popular announcers anywhere.  In the podcast, Ian talks with AA about...

-His popularity amongst American soccer fans 
-The memorable USA/Brazil Women's World Cup Quarterfinal 
-The challenges facing the growth of MLS 
-Wednesday night's USA-Mexico friendly and the debut of Jurgen Klinsmann
-The upcoming EPL season and his picks to win the league
-The next steps for the growth of soccer 

Many thanks to Ian for taking some time away from his matchday preparation in Philadelphia for joining us on the AA Podcast.  This is a must listen for any soccer fan or fan of great broadcasting.  You can catch Ian in the booth with John Harkes for the USA-Mexico friendly in Philly at 9 PM ET on ESPN2 Wednesday night.  Saturday, Darke will be back in England as the EPL season begins at 10 AM ET on ESPN2 with coverage of Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton.

You can download all of the AA Podcasts at ITunes.
 

We already told you yesterday that Jerry Rice is joining ESPN as an analyst, but today ESPN sent out the official press release, adding that two-time Super Bowl winning ex-coach Bill Parcells will join the Hall of Fame wide receiver. If you recall, Parcells has already been a slow-talking head on ESPN, previously working as a studio analyst on both Monday Night Countdown and Sunday NFL Countdown after spending part of the 2001 season as a guest analyst.

Parcells will make his debut  return this upcoming Monday, August 15 on Monday Night Countdown (7 p.m. ET), before the New York Jets-Houston Texans preseason game. His duties during the regular season will not be unlike what he previously did with the Leader, including SportsCenter Special shows Super Bowl Confidential and Draft Confidential, similar to the 90-minute Bill Parcells Draft Confidential from earlier this year.

Parcells' co-workers are ecstatic to reunite with their third ex-Jets coach: 

Adam Schefter could only bother mustering up a RT.

Anyway, taking into account Michael McCarthy of USA Today's report that Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks will no longer be analysts at ESPN, that leaves ESPN's laundry list of talking heads as follows: 

Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Millen, Steve Young, Eric Allen, Tedy Bruschi, Trent Dilfer, Mike Golic, Herm Edwards, Tim Hasselbeck, Merril Hoge, Antonio Pierce, Mark Schlereth, Marcellus WIly, Darren Woodson, Andrew Brandt, Lomas Brown, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Jon Ritchie, Kordell Stewart, Ross Tucker, Damien Woody, Hugh Douglas, Eric Mangini, Bill Parcells, Jerry Rice, The San Diego Chicken, Red Grange, Rich Kotite, This Guy, He Hate Me, Leon Taylor, Rex Ryan, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder and Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. 

Oh, no, I've gone cross-eyed.

Remember Roy Williams?  No, not the former Lions and Cowboys wide receiver that just signed with the Bears, Roy Williams the former Oklahoma star and Cowboys safety that spent the last two years in Parts Unknown Cincinnati.  Williams is a free agent, but hasn't been picked up by a team this offseason.  However, he's making the most of it.  Reportedly, Roy Williams will star in a Dallas based spinoff of the hit A&E show Storage Wars.  YEEEEEEP!!!  From ESPN Dallas...

Safety Roy Williams, the Cowboys’ first pick in the 2002 draft, still wants to play in the NFL.

But if you don’t catch him playing on Sundays, then you can watch him this fall on the reality show "Storage Wars: Dallas," a spinoff of the successful A&E show that just finished its first season.

“My agent is trying to find me a team,” Williams said in a text message. “I’m not retired, but I am filming Storage Wars here in Dallas, which I’m having a blast doing.”

The show features professional buyers and their teams going through repossessed storage units in hopes of finding valuable goods.

Williams spent the last two seasons playing for Cincinnati. He played 12 games last season, finishing with 59 tackles, a sack, an interception and three fumble recoveries.

As a sometimey connoisseur of reality based programming, Storage Wars has quickly turned into one of my favorite television shows.  Much like Pawn Stars, the format is simple and consistent, but the characters are truly what makes the show compelling.  There's the added element of dreaming to yourself that you could go around old storage units and make money or actually own some old piece of crap that's really worth thousands of dollars.  If Roy Williams (who I assume has deep pockets and hasn't Antoine Walkered his money away) can turn into the Dallas version of either Dave or Barry, this Dallas spinoff will be off to a great start.  I'll be very disappointed though if there isn't at least one buyer wearing a cowboy hat.  While we're at it, I'd love to see an hour long special where Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones go around Dallas and bid on random things.  Could Cubes buy JerryWorld?  That could be fun too.

[ESPN Dallas] 

While we're hyping interactive features here at AA like our Fan Forum, why not bring back an old favorite...Create the Caption!  In this installment, newest NBA on TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal steps out with his girlfriend... or is that tries not to step on his new girlfriend.  Leave a comment below and give us your best caption for the picture.  Feel free to let your imagination run wild with this one... well, not too wild.  After all, think of the children!  Thanks to SportsGrid for the pic.

Links

Bloguin's new college football blog, Crystal Ball Run, has an interview with guru Phil Steele about the upcoming season (Crystal Ball Run).

Our friend Richard Deitsch has a podcast up with ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit. (SI)

According to Fang's Bites, Kurt Warner is now exclusive to the NFL Network. No word if Kurt's analysis will be spliced with incessant cutaways to his wife in the stands.  (Fang's Bites)

Hulk Hogan weighed in on the riots in London...wait, what? (Deadspin)

Details on the contract between ESPN and Texas involving the Longhorn Network have been released, and they're as ugly as we all suspected (SportsNewser)

 

This past weekend, the Yankees/Red Sox three-game series was televised nationally on MLB Network, FOX, and ESPN, respectively, and all three games received record-like ratings. Here's the breakdown, courtesy of timesunion.com's Sports Media blog: 

MLB Network’s Friday night telecast, which was blacked out in the Capital Region as well as the New York and Boston areas, was the second highest-rated game in network history, drawing 563,000 viewers. Only last year’s Stephen Strasburg’s major-league debut gained a larger audience.

The Saturday afternoon matchup on Fox (part of the country saw Phillies-Giants) drew 4.1 million viewers, the network’s biggest audience for a non-prime time baseball telecast. It was the biggest regular-season Saturday baseball audience since July 5, 2008 (Yankees-Red Sox, Cardinals-Cubs).

The teams generated a 3.6 overnight Nielsen rating, ESPN’s highest “Sunday Night Baseball” rating of the season and largest total audience (4.7 million) for the network since June 3, 2007, when the same teams attracted 5.3 million. ESPN’s Sunday night package shows a 9 percent audience gain from last year.

Fans complain that the networks shove this historic rivalry into our eye sockets on a yearly basis, but some of the same people have to be contributing to its record ratings. These ratings certainly are not going to convince MLB Network, FOX, or ESPN to stop scheduling this rivalry on a regular basis.

Now, the ratings do not necessarily suggest viewers can't get enough Yanks/Sawx because it's must see TV. First of all, a match up between two teams involved in one of the closer divisional battles in baseball is inherently compelling on its own. When the games also last for 1/5 of the day, it's not uncommon for fans to want to at the very least check in on it.

Pete Dougherty of the aforelinked Times Union Sports Media blog also noted that the Friday night telecast received 33-percent higher ratings than last year's match up on the same weekend, suggesting it had something to do with the fact that the NFL Hall of Fame game, scheduled to air on NBC, was cancelled this year. 

Whatever it might be, the numbers these three games received are only going to reinforce the scheduling of Yanks/Sawx series in every available nationally televised slot - awesome, go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for that.

ESPN has been making waves this offseason with the addition of several former NFL players and coaches to add to their prodigious stable of analysts.  This time, ESPN has gone to the well of former players for the greatest wide receiver of all-time, Jerry Rice.  Rice is the biggest name addition to an evergrowing list of ESPN NFL analysts to take their talents to Bristol.  Richard Deitsch broke the news...

The network has hired Jerry Rice as an analyst, SI.com has learned. The formal announcement will be made later this week.

Rice will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter and ESPN's Audibles show, which will air weekly this fall on Thursday nights. On Audibles, Rice will be reunited with his former Niners quarterback Steve Young. He is scheduled to start at ESPN on Sept. 15 and will be based on the West Coast.

The Hall of Famer's sports media experience includes co-hosting Sports Sunday on NBC Bay Area after 49ers games last season. He has served as an analyst for BBC Television's coverage of the NFL and co-hosted an afternoon show on Sirius NFL Radio.

Great players aren't always great analysts.  Joe Montana and Emmitt Smith quickly come to mind as all-time great players that didn't have what was needed to succeed on television.  Rice can at least speak in sentences, which should put him ahead of Emmitt Smith already.  I had no idea about his prior experience working for the BBC either, so he isn't a full-fledged rookie.  Seeing as how he will be "based on the West Coast," I can envision him contributing to the LA SportsCenter on a regular basis.

Rice immediately becomes the most accomplished of the NFL analysts at the leader in terms of on-field achievements.  Looking at the big picture, one has to wonder if there is enough TV time for all of these ex-players and coaches.  Seriously, there has never been a bigger collection of television talent in one particular field on one network.  ESPN could almost fill an entire 53 man roster!  There are hundreds of hours ESPN needs to fill in a day, but this list is just preposterously huge.  These are the NFL analysts listed on ESPN's website and those we know have just been added to the arsenal...

Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Millen, Steve Young, Eric Allen, Tedy Bruschi, Trent Dilfer, Mike Golic, Herm Edwards, Tim Hasselbeck, Merril Hoge, Antonio Pierce, Mark Schlereth, Marcellus WIly, Darren Woodson, Andrew Brandt, Lomas Brown, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Jon Ritchie, Kordell Stewart, Ross Tucker, Damien Woody, Hugh Douglas, Eric Mangini, Jerry Rice, The San Diego Chicken, Red Grange, Rich Kotite, This Guy, He Hate Me, Leon Taylor, Rex Ryan, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder and Terry Tate, Office Linebacker

Of course, there may be one too many names on that list, but at this point it's hard to keep track...

[Sports Illustrated]

If only to confirm the torture NFL fans are in store for with the upcoming season, FOX released their announcing lineup today for NFL on FOX coverage.  And while the new pairings reflect some changes from last season, the alterations to the lineup look more like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic than actually beneficial change.  After all, the top three announcing teams all remain untouched from last season while the rest of FOX's talent pool leaves a lot to be desired.  Let's run down the announcing tandems and trios one-by-one and let you know our preliminary opinions on the potentially awful announcing we're in store for this year.

(1) Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver
-So, what else is new?  The only difference between Joe Buck's baseball broadcasting and his football broadcasting is that he'll be a trending topic on Twitter on Sunday instead of Saturday.  Let's at least hope Buck's mysterious voice ailment finally heals before the NFL starts, because the tempo and excitement of football will exacerbate the problem much more than baseball.  As far as Aikman and Oliver...meh.  Aikman can be insightful at times, while other times boring, especially when being dragged down by inane chatter with Buck.  Oliver is the best sideline reporter FOX has to offer, which is by no means an accomplishment for Oliver.

(2) Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa
-Much like the #1 announcing team is all about displeasure with Joe Buck continuing as FOX's #1 in everything, the groaning of fans getting the B team of Albert, Johnston, and Siragusa will be largely directed at the Goose.  As readers of AA will know, we're not big fans of Siragusa's on-field reporting/analysis/gasbaggery.  Perhaps no announcer says less while speaking more than Siragusa, who's main goal seems to be to ruin the viewing experience for fans of both teams subjected to his "analysis".  And while there's nothing terribly wrong with the team of Albert and Johnston, they'd be no better than 4th or 5th on the depth chart at CBS, yet they're #2 at FOX with the albatross of Siragusa hanging around their neck.

(3) Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, and Laura Okmin
-Another top 3 team, another mixed bag.  In a very short time, Billick has proven to be one of the best game analysts in the NFL.  Much like Jon Gruden, the qualities that made him an abrasive genius as a head coach have translated well to the broadcast booth with Billick's ability to read the game and relate what he's seeing to viewers at home.  In fact, it's a surprise Billick hasn't been moved up already to join Buck and Aikman on the A team.  Unforunately, Billick is hampered by working with Mr. Monotone, Thom Brennaman.  Perhaps Brennaman wouldn't be so terrible if he didn't stick to canned storylines while sounding like someone quite familiar to AA's Twitter followers.